Anderson@Large

National Women of Power Summit 2013

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Black Women’s Roundtable will host its 2nd Annual National Women of Power Summit, “Amplifying the Voices of Women and Girls in the Digital Age.”

The summit will bring together a diverse group of women leaders and emerging leaders from across the country. On Day One, they will make the rounds of Capitol Hill and meet with members of Congress. Melanie L. Campbell, convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable and president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, said:

We’re coming together in the nation’s capitol to leverage our vote. In 2012, black women were the highest vote for President Obama and the margin of victory for many in the U.S. Congress. We want to tell our elected officials what we want, which includes ending the sequestration now and becoming a functional government working in the interest of the people.

On Day Two at the Faith and Social Justice Prayer Breakfast, I will receive the BWR Social Innovation Award.

It is an incredible honor to be recognized before a room full of fierce women. I hope you will be able to join us for a power-packed celebration of difference-makers and tree-shakers.

To register, go here. For more information, call (202) 659-4929.

Voting Rights v. States’ Rights

Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Shelby County v. Holder, a case challenging Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A quick primer:

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) requires jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination to receive preapproval from the Justice Department or a federal district court in D.C. for any voting change to ensure such changes do not discriminate against voters who are racial, ethnic or language minorities. In 2006, an overwhelmingly bipartisan majority of Congress reauthorized the VRA for 25 more years.

Those jurisdictions include the former confederate states of Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. What’s at stake for these states is an issue as old as the Civil War: states’ rights. Stateline reports:

But in asking whether a key part of the federal law is constitutional, the court also will reopen a debate that long predates the measure’s enactment in 1965. It’s an argument that was at the heart of the U.S. Civil War, and one that has seen resurgence in recent years as Republicans around the country bristle at what they perceive as meddling from Washington.

That debate is the battle over states’ rights.

On its face, the challenge to the Voting Rights Act is about how state and local officials run elections. But states’ rights have underpinned much of the opposition to the law since it was first enacted, and Wednesday’s hearing will feature familiar arguments.

The issue is Section 5 of the law, which requires all or part of 16 states to get any changes to election law preapproved by either the Justice Department or a federal court. That requirement, based on findings of discrimination and racism years ago, applies to most every aspect of elections, from technical changes to the high-profile issue of photo ID requirements that recently spawned court battles for states such as Texas and South Carolina. The challenge was brought by Shelby County, Alabama, and argues that the act’s preclearance requirement is unconstitutional on its face, no matter how it’s employed.

Civil rights leaders, Members of Congress and voting rights activists from across the country will rally at the steps of the Supreme Court.

For more information, visit ProtecttheVRA.org.

2013 #SOTU Address

In case you missed it ...

Happy Birthday to the Drum Major for Justice

Today is the actual birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.

Election Day 2012

It's Election Day. Go vote!

You don't have to live in Philadelphia to say something about problems at the polls in the City of Brotherly Love (and Sisterly Affection).

If you hear, see or read about something happening in Philly, report it.

Be Careful Where You Vote

Election Day is seven days away.

In the wake of Frankenstorm, your polling place may have changed. To verify the location of your polling place, go to Can I Vote?

If you show up at the wrong place, you still can vote, but you must cast a provisional ballot. The question then becomes: Will your vote be counted?

I talked about the perils of provisional ballots during a panel discussion organized by New York Women in Film and Television at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

The bottom line: Be careful where – and how – you vote.

Yo, Philly Votes

Election Day is 55 days away. With the Cost of Freedom Voter ID App, I’m helping voters get ready.

I’m now developing an app to help protect the rights of those who show up on Election Day.

I’d like to share an excerpt from my post about the Ushahidi-powered Yo! Philly Votes, which was published yesterday on the Ushahidi blog:

I am a voting rights activist who has monitored elections in Angola, Ethiopia and Nigeria, and led democracy workshops in Kazakhstan. Since 2006, I have live-blogged from Election Day command centers organized by the Election Protection Coalition and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.

I’m now spearheading Yo! Philly Votes, a citizen-led initiative that will crowdsource election protection in Philadelphia, the birthplace of the American democracy.

Read more: Yo! Philly Votes Will Turn Data into Action